Analysis of a Speech by Janine Shepherd

Janine Shepherd is one of those people whose picture should appear beneath the definition of “remarkable” in the dictionary. I chose one of Janine’s quotes as the100th quote for public speakers, and you can read a short summary of her incredible life there.Recently, Janine told her story at a TEDx event in Kansas. It was moving and motivating. The video of her TED Talk is below. I encourage you to watch it and be inspired. Following the video, we will examine five important takeaways for public speakers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ltDJynTduY]

There is so much that is so good about Janine’s talk. Here are just five of the lessons:1. A Powerful OpeningToo often, speakers begin with a safe and boring statement such as, “It’s nice to be here. Today I am going to talk to you about …”. But this how Janine began:

Life is about opportunities, creating them and embracing them. And for me, that was the Olympic dream. That’s what defined me. That was my bliss.

She starts with a compelling and powerful statement that is relevant for anyone. She then proceeds to say how it was relevant for her. Moreover, the four sentences above are progressively shorter, giving the whole opening a nice rhythm. I am sure that these four simple sentences were the result of a lot of work and reflection.Lesson: Your opening is incredibly important. It is your only chance to make a good first impression. Don’t waste it. Protect it. Make it special.2. Excellent Use of PropsPropscan enhancea speech or presentation. Janine used two simple props to great effect.First, the use of five chairs to represent five stages of her life (from her accident to becoming a pilot) is very clever. There is a natural progression and it is easy to follow. I particularly appreciated the moment, at 9:20 of the talk, when Janine is sitting on the fourth chair (after she has left the hospital) and she reaches back to the third chair (the hospital spinal ward) as she remembered her friend, Maria who was still there.Second, the use of the straws—including placing one on every chair in the audience—was both a great reminder of the story in the hospital and a powerful metaphor for the point that we are all connected. Because the straws were already on the seats, the element of surprise at the end would have been mitigated by the story about the straws in the middle of the talk. One way to maintain the element of surprise would be to tape the straws underneath the seats and have people reach for them. Of course, this would require more preparation and could be cumbersome for some audience members.Lesson: Props can be very effective. Here areten tipsfor using them. 3. Excellent Use of HumourWell-timed humour is always appreciated in a speech. It is especially appreciated in a speech such as Janine’s that is filled with many heavy, emotional moments. By making light of her own circumstances, Janine gives us permission to laugh, and that laughter is like a much needed breath of fresh air that prepares us for what is to follow.And so, we have wonderful examples throughout the talk, such as the following:

2:10 – After describing her horrific injuries: “I was having a really bad day.”

4:12 – After coming out of a long and complicated surgery: “I thought, Great! Because I’m going to the Olympics!”

6:25 – After getting the pile of straws: “Well, there wasn’t much else to do in the spinal ward, so we did.”

12:25 – Showing how she walked into the airport: “I can tell you that I did not look like the ideal candidate to get a pilot’s license.”

14:35 – “Mom said she was forever following me … wiping off my fingerprints … but at least she always knew where I was.”

Lesson:It is perfectly OK to tell your audience a moving story and bring them down emotionally. But don’t leave them down throughout your talk. Look for moments of lightness that will give your audience a bit of a break. Craft your speech so that there are highs to counterbalance the lows.4. Excellent Use of LanguageOn the TED site, you can see the transcript of Janine’s speech. Have a close look. Those words do not happen by accident. They are the result of hours of writing, thinking, rewriting, cutting, agonizing and writing some more.Janine uses a variety of techniques—vivid, descriptive language that evokes all of the senses; dialogue; rhetorical devices; and more—to make her speech come alive. And note that there are few complex words. For the most part, she uses simple words. And those are the best words.Here are some of the phrases and sentences that I particularly appreciated:

“[I]t was the perfect autumn day: sunshine; the smell of eucalypt and a dream. Life was good.”

“… as I sucked in the cold mountain air, I could feel it burning my lungs …”

“I was an athlete. That’s all I knew; that’s all I’d done. If I couldn’t do that, then what could I do? … [I]f I couldn’t do that, then who was I?”

“I realized that this wasn’t just my life; it was life itself. I realized that this wasn’t just my pain; it was everybody’s pain.”

Lesson: Writing a good speech takes time and effort. The reward is worth the effort.5. A Willingness to Be VulnerableA while back, I wrote a post entitled,You’ve Got to Get Naked on Stage. In it, I wrote that when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable on stage, magic moments can occur. When we speak, the focus should be outward instead of inward. We should focus on our message; show some emotion; be 100% in the moment. Most importantly, we should care about your audience.Janine does all of this in spades. There is no point in trying to single out a particular moment in which she shows her emotion. Her entire speech is a textbook lesson in how to be vulnerable on stage. And her audience is there with her the entire way.Lesson: Be willing to show some of your humanity—your fears; your hopes; your emotions—on stage. Your audience will appreciate it.Is there room for improvement in Janine’s speech? There is always room for improvement, even for a great speech such as hers. If I could make two suggestions, they would be as follows:1. Spend a little more time talking about the audience.It is only at the 17:50 mark (one minute from the end) that Janine begins to talk about the audience. I think that there is an opportunity to expand this part, just a little. As heroic as Janine is, she is not the hero of her speech. To borrow a phrase from Nancy Duarte, the audience is the hero. Every speech is always about the audience.So, for example, Janine could expand on her point that “it no longer matters what you look like, where you come from, or what you do for a living.” She could give examples of different challenges that people might be facing in addition to physical ones and reinforce the point that we are more than our bodies and more than our circumstances.2. Restructure the conclusion slightly.I love Janine’s final thought for the audience, and I love the idea of giving everyone a straw. However, Janine’s final words were to ask people to raise their straws and join her. So at that moment, you had some people clapping, some holding up their straws, some looking for their straws. It diminished the power of the moment.Also, if you listen closely, at 18:20, after the line, “… because we are all connected by millions and millions of straws”, there is a reaction from the audience and even a smattering of applause. That is a clue that there is something slightly amiss with the conclusion. (When I first listened to the speech, I actually thought that this was the end because it was such a great line on which to finish.)For me, improving the conclusion is not about rewriting; rather, it is about reordering. Below is the conclusion as delivered by Janine.

All that matters is that we continue to fan the flame of humanity by living our lives as the ultimate creative expression of who we really are, because we are all connected by millions and millions of straws, and it’s time to join those up and to hang on. And if we are to move towards our collective bliss, it’s time we shed our focus on the physical and instead embrace the virtues of the heart. So raise your straws if you’ll join me.

Here is one possible way of restructuring the conclusion:

If we are to move towards our collective bliss, it’s time we shed our focus on the physical and instead embrace the virtues of the heart. All that matters is that we continue to fan the flame of humanity by living our lives as the ultimate creative expression of who we really are. Because we are all connected by millions and millions of straws, and it’s time to join them up and hang on together.

For me, the metaphor of the straws is so powerful that it cries out to be the final sentence. Furthermore, I don’t think that Janine even needs to ask the people in the audience to raise their straws. They have already seen them on their seats and they already know their significance from the speech. Sometimes, leaving something unsaid can be the most powerful form of expression of all.Ultimately, these suggestions are just some minor trimming around the edges of a terrific speech. I “met” Janine through social media a couple of years ago and we have stayed in touch since. I am proud to be able to call her my friend. Keep flying high, Janine!

Download the APP

Testimonials

John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

Jon Lopez

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!